


Coming Back

by Katie237



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU 3x01, Comics Inspired, Flashpoint flashback, Hurt/Comfort, Killer Frost v.s Vibe war, My take on Flashpoint before the episode aired (written last summer)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-11-23 14:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11404728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katie237/pseuds/Katie237
Summary: For months, after Zoom's been defeated, Barry's friends and family waited for him to come back to them after he told Iris on that night that he needed to leave. Nobody expected the hero to come back like this; badly hurt, bleeding, and incoherent, in the West's house. Take place in season 3, after Barry fixed his mistakes and came back in the original timeline.





	1. Back

**Author's Note:**

> Take note I wrote this story in early July last summer (2016), before we had any information on how the show was going to do Flashpoint. It was my take on what could happen in the 3x01

''Damn'' stated Wally. ''Can we stop by the house for a second? Think I forgot my phone there earlier.''

''Really Wally?'' said Iris, turning around in her seat to watch her brother in the back ''You won't even need it tonight.''

''Come on, Iris.'' Quickly answered Wally back. ''It's on our way anyway.''

Joe smiled in front of the car, a family wasn't a family until there was some friendly brother and sister arguments. He couldn't help but let his imagination take over and imagine that his kids were still young children, going with him one some family vacation. So much missing time between them, but at least Wally finally became full part of the family.

''Alright you two, we'll make a stop. We have time.''

Joe's smile faded when his mind decided to remind him that there was one member of his family missing. It's been 5 months since Zoom has been defeated. 5 months since Iris came into the house to tell them Barry needed to get away to repair his broken heart and soul. As a father, it was hard to accept the fact there was some cases you couldn't help your children with and have to let them go. Joe only wished there was any way to know where Barry went and how long until he would return. He could be back next day, next week or in a couple of years. He tried his best to move on, they all did. Just like one year ago, Cisco returned full time advisor to the police to fight the Metahumans and, thanks to Dr McGee knowing everything about Team Flash, Caitlin was able to easily get her old job back at Mercury labs. At least, until Barry would be back in Central City.

As if there wasn't enough stuff to worry about, the roof of the West house, the one they just repaired last year after the King Shark attack started leaking in the heavy storm during the night, flooding part of the living room. After spending most of the day emptying and cleaning the room, the West family decided a night at the restaurant was well deserved and needed.

Joe pulled in the driveway, watching his son jumped out.

''I'll be quick!''

The youngest West entered the house and went upstairs as fast as he could, climbing two stairs at the time. That's when he was on his way down with what he came from that Wally noticed that something was amiss. There were a pair of boots popping out from behind the plastic covered couch. Not any boot, a red one, with toes pointing toward the ceiling. And it wasn't moving.

''Barry? Barry!'' Letting go of his phone without even realizing it, Wally ran into the living room. Sure enough, there it was, the Scarlet Speedster laying on the ground, unmoving. He kneeled next to him, not caring about the wetness under him, placing his shaking hands to each side of the masked face, trying to rouse him.

''Barry! Can you hear me? Wake up man!''

Nothing, no answer. The young man took the mask off, revealing a clear view of a bleeding nose and lips, and reached for the throat with dread. He let out his breath when he felt it, a pulse right there under his fingers.

''I'm gonna get help, don't move.''

_*Where is he going to go in that state anyway?*_ thought Wally as he got up in one quick motion, unconsciously rubbing his hands on his wet jean. He froze, whatever he was keeling in wasn't exactly feeling like water. Looking down only confirmed his fear. He was down in a puddle of blood, a puddle that looked like it was still growing, unless it was just a mind trick. Swallowing hard, the young man ran as fast as the Flash would to get to the front door, swinging it open, waving his arms at the person in the car.

''Help! Please! Quick!''

The car's doors flew open, Joe getting out of it, his gun in his hand, ready to face anything threatening his family. ''Wally! What's wrong?!''

As Joe closed to his house's open front door, Wally spoke the last words he wanted to hear at that exact moment. A word that made Joe's blood run cold.

''It's Barry!''

The whole West family ran in the house, Joe and Iris stopping the second they laid their eyes on the fallen hero in the living room, bleeding on the floor. His suit was a mess, cuts everywhere, showing skin and blood all over. There was one spectacular wound on his lower abdomen, close to the spot where Zoom stabbed him last year, but way bigger. Like something or someone tried to impale the hero. Coming back out of his trance, Joe came to the other side of his adopted son and tried cataloguing the injuries the best he could with his limited first aid knowledge. Priority was clearly to stop the bleeding on the abdomen wound that was pouring more blood in the growing puddle every passing second. It would be a miracle it nothing vital was touched.

''Iris, go take a towel, we need to put pressure on the wound. Wally; call Caitlin and Cisco, tell them we'll meet them at the labs.''

Returning his attention back to his son, Joe noticed that his eyes were open halfway, but didn't seem to look at nothing. He couldn't tell if Barry was just starting to wake up of if the boy has been conscious since they find him and they only noticed it now.

''Hey Barr, you're with us? Can you hear me?''

His worries only increased when, not only the young man didn't answer or looked at him, but he kept staring at the ceiling and started mumbling something incoherently. The detective moved his face closer, trying to hear what was being said, decrypting couple of words here and there.

''Failed….no…I…sorry…failed….no….no…..couldn't….sorry….didn't….mom, love you.''

What the hell happened in the last 5 months? Where was he? Barry looked like he's just seen and fought one ugly war. Was he helping Jay, the real one, on Earth 3? Did he end up on some other Earth where everything went wrong? During all the time the speedster's been away, everyone kept their eyes open for news about the Flash, worldwide, especially Cisco and Iris but nothing came up. Like he completely disappeared from the face of the Earth, this one at least. Joe put his hands on Barry's shoulder to try comforting him, but the only answer he got was an increase shaking and the boy's breathing getting shallower, faster by the minute.

Wally interrupted his father's thought, coming back into the room.

''I spoke with Caitlin, she's on her way, she'll meet us at S.T.A.R. Labs.''

Nodding, the detective got up, gathering his son's prone form in his arms. No time to waste.


	2. Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The West take Barry back to the STAR and try to heal his wounds

''What the hell happened?!'' exclaimed Caitlin when she saw the state Barry was in. Wally told her on the phone that Barry was back from…from whatever the hell he's been for the last 5 months and that he needed help, medical help, and fast.

''We don't know.'' Told her Joe as he quickly put down the boy on the gurney. ''We found him like that in the living room. He lost a lot of blood already, thinks he's going into shock.''

The doctor listened with only one ear as the rest of her concentration was already on her patient. She hated seeing her friend suffer. Couldn't the hero catch a break for a second? They all thought he was off to somewhere he could take his mind off everything that happened, not fighting a full out war.

''Barry, can you hear me?'' She asked while forcing his eyes open, putting light into both of them, trying to see the reaction, before checking for her patient's vitals. Taking in the clammy and humid skin, as well as the shallow breathing, Caitlin spoke up to whoever was the closest.

''Help me get him upstairs. I'll need some help with him, couldn't contact Cisco.''

Without wasting anymore seconds, Joe started pushing the gurney toward the elevator, the doctor rushing to keep it up and keep her eyes at all on time on her patient, Iris and Wally just behind, worry in their eyes.

As soon as they got in the cortex, Wally volunteered to assist Caitlin while Cisco was still out of reach, knowing he was the least emotionally compromised of them all. The rest of them waiting in the hallway, outside of the cortex, Joe walking none-stop, closing to the elevator and coming back, before starting again, working hard to calm his nerves. His daughter watching him, helpless to ease his worries as she was in the same state, losing all sense of time. How long had Caitlin and Wally been in there? No news was good news, right? At least that's what some people love to say to ease their worries, their torpor was broken when their heard footsteps coming their way. Iris and Joe both turned at the same time in time to see Cisco emerged, dressed in the cleanest shirt they've ever seen him it, with an alarming look on his features.

''I'm sorry I was at a diner with my family, I tried returning Wally and Caitlin's calls, but they're not answering. They were trying to say something about Barry….''

Cisco suddenly froze in mid-sentence when he got a good look at the two people in front of him, noticing their dreadful looks and the blood, the blood on their hands and on Joe's shirt from when he carried the boy. The tone of the voices on his voicemail weren't exactly calm and reassuring, but he wasn't expecting to see a scene like this. His panic grew instantly.

''Oh god, what happened? Where's Barry?''

Joe looked down at his shirt, only noticing now the blood covering him, his son's blood staining his clothes. The sight of it almost immediately made his stomach sick. It wasn't supposed to happen. Barry wasn't supposed to be fighting Armageddon while he was away. Before any of the West could answer, Caitlin walked in from the other side, her lab coat and blue shirt underneath completely ruined by all the blood on it.

''He's stable'' she started, waiting for everyone to release the breath they've been holding before continuing. ''Whatever he was stabbed with only grazed his stomach. He had internal bleeding, but I was able to fix the damages. I had to use all the blood we had in reserve for him, he lost a lot of it. '' Caitlin waited for a second to see if anyone was going to say anything, and when they didn't, all of them hooked on her words, she continued with her diagnosis. ''I don't think he has eaten anything in days, probably more. Barry's lost a lot of weight, I got to warn you about it and he's also badly dehydrated. He's really been through hell''

Joe was the first one to talk again:

''Can you tell what did this to him?''

''Not sure. Whatever pierced him was really sharp and circular, it wasn't a knife, that's for sure. '' Caitlin took a pause before saying her next piece of information: ''I can tell you his right leg has been badly frozen, most likely a 3rd degree cold bite.''

''Snart?'' growled Joe.

''I'm not sure, I thought Snart was still out of town. We'll know more when he wakes up.''

''When would that be?'' Inquired Iris.

''Can we see him?'' added Cisco.

''You can go in there, Wally is helping me making him comfortable at the moment. I wouldn't expect him to wake up for at least hours considering how weak he is right now, but he still has his healing power, so we never know.''

''Thanks Caitlin.'' Said Joe as he put his hand on the doctor's shoulder before passing her on his way to the medical bay.

''Geez.'' he heard Cisco whispered behind him as the group spotted the fallen hero, Caitlin wasn't kidding when she said Barry lost weight. The poor boy's ribs were clearly showing under the bruise skin and now that the blood has been clean off, the group could notice how hollow his cheeks were.

 

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

They didn't have to wait too long before Barry started moving in his sleep, showing the first signs that he was close on coming back to them, barely over two hours later he was found in the West's living house. Joe hadn't left his son's side for a second, he let his two other kids go out to grab some lunch, realizing only now that everyone at the labs canceled their lunch plan to come take care of the hero. Cisco was trying to kill time, and his nerves, by working on repairing the suit in the cortex, Caitlin not too far away.

''No…no…no…please, don't kill him. Please.'' Whispered, pleaded the speedster in his sleep, struggling more and more on the bed.

''Hey, hey Barr. Wake up!'' Said Joe, trying to immobilize the speedster.

At first, it didn't seem like the young boy heard anything, but when Joe repeated himself, he saw his son stopped moving in a second. His eyelids fluttering, slowly opening at the detective's smiling face, winking a few times to clear his vision. But his reaction wasn't exactly the one Joe was waiting or hoping for. When the speedster finally got a clear view of who was sitting next to him, his face lost the remaining colors it still had and his breathing became more and more erratic, faster.

Barry weakly struggled to seat, fighting to get his arm under his back to push himself in a sitting position, wanting to get away.

''No, not real, you're not real.''

''Calm down son, it's me. I'm here.'' Joe turned around to see if the scientists were still in the room. ''Little help in there?''

''She killed you, you're dead.''

There was a mix of fear and confusion in Barry's eyes, like he's just seen a ghost, which was probably related to what he was saying. Joe was taken off-guard by that.

''What? I'm here, I'm ok Barry. Please calm down.''

The detective was taken back by Caitlin who pushed him away when making her way in, clearing her way to work, leaning over her friend.

''Easy Barry. Breath for me, you need to….''

Before she could finish her sentence, she witnessed Barry's eye grow wider in pure terror before trashing way harder than before, with wasn't much considering how weak he was. But, it was still enough to make Joe grunt under the effort to keep him on the bed.

''Frost, please. Let him go. Please don't do this! Don't kill him!''

Caitlin and Joe exchanged confused looks before the doctor instructed Barry's father to continue keeping the boy down as she went to her medication's cabinet. ''Got it!'' she exclaimed, taking a syringe, turning around so she could inject the content directly in the boy's tight.

It had the desired effect, the speedster's body went completely limp once again, making everyone take back their breath.

''Did I just heard him call you Frost? Like….Ki...'' Started Cisco, joining them.

''Killer Frost?'' Completed Caitlin. Cisco nodded in response.

''But I thought she was dead'' Completed Joe.

''She is, I saw Hunter kill her. On Earth 2 at least.'' As she finished her sentence, they all turned toward the sedate speedster wondering once again where he was during all that missing time. On another Earth?

The wound was consistent with something Killer Frost would do and Caitlin shivered at the thought that she would be the one hurting her friend like that even if t wasn't exactly her.


	3. Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry wakes up again and he'S not a happy campter

''You want to do what?! What the hell is going on here'' exclaimed Iris the second she entered the cortex with her brother right behind, right in the middle of a heated conversation between Joe, Cisco and Caitlin.

 _*Great*_ thought Caitlin, she was already having trouble with Joe and Cisco and now it was going to be a 4 on 1 battle, even though part of her wasn't so keen on winning that fight.

Cisco saved her the explanation by speaking up.

''Barry woke up while you were gone and...and, he wasn't a happy. He was fighting, trying to get away, from Caitlin and Joe. Caitlin had to sedate him. He acted like he was terrified of us.''

Iris just stood there in confusion, unsure how to react to this.

''I think we need to consider restraining Barry before we know what's going on with him.'' repeated Caitlin at the newcomers before they could speak. ''He wasn't too hard to keep him down in his state, but we're not sure what to expect next time.''

''You think he's dangerous?!'' Lashed out Iris a bit harder that she intended to. ''He's Barry! He's our family, our friend, your friend, not a prisoner. He was just confused.''

''And you two on onboard with that?'' accused Wally, looking closely at the two other men in the room.

''I don't like this either.'' Started Joe, uncomfortable, his face tensed with doubt and uncertainty. ''But, I saw his eyes when he woke up, he looked right at me, at Caitlin and looked absolutely terrified. I don't want to harm him, but we already lost him for months, I don't want to risk having him bold on us before we can get a chance to clear this all out. We can't risk him outside in that state.''

''Whatever or...whoever did this to him...did quite a number on him.'', started Caitlin, looking uncomfortable, sharing a look with the two people who were there when the speedster woke up, a look that didn't go unnoticed.

''What? Just tell us.'' intervened Wally on the behalf of his sister and for himself.

''Barry called Caitlin; Killer Frost...''

''Killer who now?'' responded the young man. People in the labs sometime forgetting how new Wally was in Team Flash. Iris decided to take the lead on the explanation.

''In the world where Zoom, Harry and Jesse came from, Caitlin's doppelganger was an evil metahuman called Killer Frost who was working for Zoom. But she's dead. Isn't she?'' finished the woman, turning around to face Caitlin for the confirmation.

''I saw her die in front of me, there's no way she's still alive.''

''Is there any chances she'll still alive on some other Earth?'' asked Wally, taking everything in his strides.

''Guess it is...there's only one person who can tell us what really happened and he's in no shape to do so...'' Cisco said, all of them turning around at the same time to look at the sedated speedster. The contemplation didn't last too long before Iris spoke up again, not really to let go on her position.

''If he thinks you're Killer Frost and you want to hurt you, aren't you only giving him more reasons to keep believing it by tying him up? What if he only gets more agitated? Get his power back, vibe through it and run away''

''She's got a point'' said Joe, turning toward Caitlin. ''There's gotta be another way to get through to him.''

Before anyone could answer, Cisco took the lead:

''Let me give it a try. Let me be alone with him next time he wakes up''

 

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

They didn't have to wait too long for their chance second with the speedster. As Caitlin predicted, the sedative she gave him only lasted a couple of hours. Caitlin was monitoring her patient and his stomach wound when he started to shift and move under her hands, his head starting to move, his eyes trying to open. The doctor shared a *good luck* look with Cisco, who's been sitting in the uncomfortable chair for the past few hours, before swiftly making her way out of the medical lab and out of the cortex. She joined the rest of the gang in another nearby lab where they had a computer set up to show a live feed of the camera in the med lab, needing to now the second something would go wrong.

Both Iris and Wally, were seated near the entry of the lab, quickly discussion among themselves, staying at some distance of the computer on the other side of the room, while Joe's eyes never left a movement unnoticed on the screen. Both of the detective's kids moved their heads up and nodded in understatement to the doctor who passed by them, comprehending that Barry was finally joining them again.

''Hey man.'' Quietly started Cisco, not wanting to hustle the young man.

He watched closely his friend fighting to open his eyes, his head turning toward Cisco, wanting to see who was talking to him. Slowly but surely, he found the strength he needed to lift his eyelids. The second Barry made eye contact with Cisco, his eyes went wide in surprise, than in hope.

''VIBE! You're alive? How's that possible?!'' He exclaimed, trying to get up fast, only ending up falling back on the bed, grunting in pain between his teeth for a second, his hand automatically going for his abdomen's bandage. Barry spoke up again after a few seconds, acting as strong as he could even if Cisco knew his friend enough to see that the pain in his eyes was still strongly resonating: ''How did you…I saw her kill you. She pushed you off the cliff's edge, I saw it!''

Vibe? Ok. That was interesting. At least Barry wasn't freaking out, so Cisco decided to play with it for a second, see where it would lead. Cautiously, Cisco reached for his friend's shoulders to keep him in a laying position.

''Easy there buddy, I'm ok. You need to rest.''

''Rest? No, no. Killer Frost, I saw her, she's here. We need to get out of here right now. '' Barry was turning his head around quickly, trying to spot his enemy, struggling to put Cisco's hands away so he could get up.

Cisco compromised and let him at least sit, so the man could at least monitor who was in the room. The simple fact of having a view on the entries seemed to calm the speedster.

''You're back on Earth 1 man, you need to relax, you're ok, you're safe.'' At that sentence, Barry stopped moving and stared directly into Cisco's eyes, confusion all over.

''Back? But, I never left this Earth, what is going on here?''

Ok, seriously, what the hell was going on here? All the thoughts in Cisco's head right now could resume to that. How could Barry have fought with Killer Frost and pretend at the same time that he never left this dimension, this Earth. Did Barry lost his mind or something?

''Man, you're scaring me'' Cisco stated unsure what to do.

''What are you playing at? Help me get up, let's get out before she comes back'' Barry was pushing through the pain as he put the blanket away and tried getting out. His movement stopping just as suddenly when the hero's whole upper body slumping forward, his right arm surrounding his stomach, a sharp hiss of pain escaping his lips.

''Buddy, hey, stop. Do you trust me? Please.'' The pleading wasn't exactly intended, but Cisco couldn't help the clenching in his chest in seeing his friend in pain and having no idea how to help him.

There was definitely doubt in the speedster's mind, his face tensing, frowning, hesitating. Barry obviously didn't like where this was going, especially considering the young man in front of him wasn't even trying to help him get out before Killer Frost would reappear. He finally decided to go for a nod.

''Yeah, I do.''

''Alright, listen up.'' Cisco started, taking a deep breath. ''Whatever happened to you, it's over, everything is over. You just came back to us.''

''Vibe, What about the war?'' Interrupted Barry before his friend could finish his sentence.

''What war? Barry, everything's been calm here since you killed Zoom.''

''No no….you're lying, the war isn't over, you're lying to me! I saw Frost, she was doing some experiment on me, I started hallucinating, we need to go now me before she…''

''Barry, you need to calm down if you want to …''

In a split second, Cisco saw the face of Barry changed, from _*I'm listening, I'm trusting you*_ to full blown out anger and betrayal.

''You're not Vibe! You're working for her!'' Lightings and electricity sparkled in the young man's eyes, looking like a wild animal ready to attack at anytime to defend his life. ''I knew the real Vibe was dead!''

Instinctively, Cisco jumped on his feet and almost took a step back, but he got a grip on his fear just in time to keep his ground and try to ignore his now racing heart.

''Calm down Barry, please. I'm not going to hurt you, neither is anyone here. Do you remember when you left, when you told Iris you needed some space?''

''I...ris?''

The agitation stopped, Barry's light in his eyes seemed to fade, there was light but nobody was home for a moment. _*There you go, come on buddy, come back to us.*_ thought Cisco. Barry finally came back and turned his glance once again in the direction of the other man.

''Isn't it Detective West's daughter?''

Cisco frowned, that wasn't like Barry at all to call Joe by his function, and even less to forget Iris. But to be fair, nothing was making sense about the hero since he came back to them. Was he brainwashed or something? Unless it wasn't their Barry but one from another Earth? The scientist tried to keep it cool.

''Yeah that's it, you go it.'' he encouraged the speedster. ''You were outside Joe's house, with Iris and…''

''Iris….Joe…I don't…'' Barry's head suddenly falling against his chest, his face wincing in pain. ''What's wrong with me? What did you do to me?''

Cisco's instinct wanted to help, comfort the speedster, but he had no idea what to do with his hand, frozen in mid-air, unsure if he could touch the speedster without making him bold. He needed Caitlin at this moment, but something told him Barry wasn't ready to face her again, not yet.

''What's wrong buddy?''

''It's my head. It hurt. Make it stop.''

Before the young engineer could make the decision to call the doctor, Barry slowly put his head up, the pain still spreading in all of his features, but there was something new, there was recognition flashing in his eyes this time.

''….Cisco?'' he confusingly asked, sounding like a four year old needing reassurance that he was safe.

 

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

Iris frowned as she observed her brother sitting next to her, as Wally was playing with his phone. Well, playing was a big word since the boy's been staring at the screen for minutes now, not doing a thing.

''It's already 5, we're going to be late.'' Suddenly said Wally, out of the blue.

''What?'' What the hell was he talking about, it was almost midnight now.

''That's what you said to me when we were at the station and dad got called by Singh, you were worried we would be late for dinner if they were to talk too much.''

''Yeah, kind of ring a bell, don't see what this has to do with anything Wally.''

 _Really Wally?_ Thought Iris, it was a bit late to think about dinner. Something sort of came up...With all that was happening, she couldn't believe that her brother was still thinking about their restaurant plan they missed.

''You remember what you I answered you back?'' continued Wally, ignoring her intervention.

''Well….no, not really. I don't get…'' Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut again.

''I didn't say anything because I was too busy answering back my pal Paul who wanted to hang out tonight. Look.''

He hold up his phone that was on a chat with his friend, the last answer send at exactly 5:01 pm, by Wally West. Iris could sense something wasn't right with this picture, but she couldn't say what exactly. Seeing her sister was still trying to put everything together, he decided to help fill-in the blanks.

''I had my phone with me when we left the station, I'm sure of it!''

''Really? That's incredibly lucky you didn't found it in your pockets and that we made a stop'' Said Iris, her eyes widening in realization on how close they came to not found Barry until it was too late. Her brain pictured for her some very clear mental images of Barry bleeding to death on the floor, all alone 'til he was a white, cold, corpse.

''No no, you don't get it. I had my phone when we left the house and when to the station so dad could return the files. I had it in the station when dad was talking to Singh, but I didn't have it in the car. I found it in my room at home.''

Iris frowned: ''How is that possible? You're sure?''

''Positive!'' answered her brother. ''And the text message proved it.''

''You don't think that Barry came running in the station, stole your phone and put it back in your room just so we could find him? If he came by the station, why not just wait for us at the car?''

''I don't know Iris, but I think someone, or something, really wanted us to find him.''

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are starting to put the pieces together? Leave me a comment :) Always deeply appreciated


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry explain everything that happened during his time in this version of Flashpoint

''Yes man, it's me, you got it!'' Cisco was smiling from ear to ear. ''You're with me?''

Barry shut his eyes tight in answer, swallowing hard like he was fighting nausea, causing his friend to get closer, raising his eyebrows with concern.

''Barry, what's wrong? Do you want me to call for help?''

Cisco was ready to bolt and go search for Caitlin himself, forgetting for a moment that there were people looking at their every moves that he could call in a second. Barry must've sensed the boy was about to leave because he grabbed Cisco's arm. The engineer could feel the tremors in the boy' body, in his voice.

''No wait...Was Joe really there earlier? Is he alive?''

''Yeah, Barry, he is, so is Iris. We're all fine. Killer Frost's not here, she never was.''

Cisco watched closely as his friend was fighting to regain control of the pain and his breathing, despite the confusion in his eyes. Slowly but surely, as he took in all the information, the confusion turned into resignation, like he already knew the answer to the next question.

''What about my parents?''

''They're...they're dead Barry. Reverse and Zoom killed them.'' Cisco answered, uncomfortably.

Cisco closely waited for the reaction as Barry simply nodded, sitting up in the bed, wincing against the pain caused by moving around, before shaking his head. His thoughts were conflicting with one another. When his voice came back it was a little stronger than before, even though the pain could still be heard in it.

''But, but...I don't get it. I came back, the house was empty, Joe emptied it after she died. I thought I failed to come back.''

''Barry, Iris is fine, they had a little roof leaking problem, that's why the room was so clean.''

Barry closed his eyes and nod, before taking a breath deep enough to make himself shake all over.

'I need to see them. I need to see them all.'

Smiling all over, Cisco signaled at the camera for everyone to come over before closing again on his friend who was lowering his head, putting it in his hands as footsteps were heard in the cortex and approaching. Barry could barely make out what was being said, wincing against the pain, tremor going all over his body as his concentration to stay alert rose at his highest.

Images were taking over his mind, memories of everything that's been happening since the night his mother died, images from the last 15 years coming in no specific order, memories there were lost, forgotten or repressed for the last five months. He could remember waking up from a nightmare at Joe's house, remembering running around that tornado on his first fight as The Flash, remembering waking up from the coma in S.T.A.R. Labs or saving people all around the city countless times. His memories of the fights against Zoom floated in his brain before the face of Reverse took over.

Everything was conflicting with the timeline he spent 5 months in, a timeline where, over time, he started to get memories he didn't even lived and where his own world, own remembrances got pushed away. His mind was having the hardest of time to readjust, but now, with all the recollections, he could clearly see his friends and family.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and instinctively moved away from it, shaking violently, trying to concentrate enough to hear the voices that were spoken to him. He found the strength to open his eyes, to witness Caitlin looking at him, her arm put away, uncertain what to do, tension all over. Barry forced a smile on his lips, trying to put his most reassuring face on.

'It's okay, Caitlin, I remember you now.'

His face must look pathetic considering how bad he was feeling, like there was a hammer constantly pounding in his head, but it still worked because the doctor relaxed in a second. All the tension left the room as Barry started to move his head around to finally get a glimpse of Joe and his children who stayed behind Caitlin, all of them on the opposite side of the bed from Cisco.

'Hey guys, I missed you.' He said in the most sincere way, tearing up.

Iris walked up to the bed, putting her hands on the boy's arm.

'We missed you too.'

'Are you ok?' Asked Caitlin.

'Barr, what happened to you?'' said Joe.

'I'll be ok, now that I'm back.'

'Barr.' Repeated Joe, sitting on the edge of the bed. 'You disappeared for 5 months on us and we found you earlier bleeding on our floor, what happened? We thought you were gone clearing your mind.'

'I…'' trailed Barry, being careful not to look at anyone in the room who were now all gathered around his bed, his tone lowering to a whisper. 'I went back in time to save my mom.'

A silence followed, everyone sharing the same *Did I hear that right?* look.

'Man.' Started Cisco, shifting his weight from one leg to another, unsure how to say this. 'But, your mom did die that night.'

'It's because I changed it back.' Barry whispered back, pressing the crowd around him to gather closer so they could hear everything.

The boy just wanted to rest, sleep his headache off, but there was no resting now that the box has been opened.

'I….After I changed the timeline, I found myself in a nightmare I couldn't get away from.' He started, taking a pause to give a chance to everyone to comment, which nobody did, so he continued. 'In this…reality, the particular accelerator still exploded, but there was a group of metahumans who considered they were more advanced than normal people and wanted basically for the metahumans to take over, take on the most powerful positions. They were led by…'

Barry stopped again in his story, uncertain how to spill it out, but, gladly, he didn't have to. Caitlin was the fastest to catch up, reading her friend's expression like a book.

'It was me, Killer Frost, wasn't it?' Caitlin's voice was calm and under control, it wasn't a question, it was an affirmation, despite the formulation of the sentence.

The boy didn't answer, he kept on looking down, at his hands, as he answered. At least his headache was getting slightly better now, even if the throbbing pain in his side was still his constant companion.

'Yeah, it was. She forced everyone to pick a side. Killer Frost didn't care how many innocents would die in the crossfire. ''

As he finished the sentence, the speedster looked up to meet Iris' eyes with his owns.

'Iris, you died trying to cover one of the fight between the factions. The Joe of this world declared war on Killer Frost and she tried making an example out of him, showing up at the funeral. She killed everyone there, except Joe. Even Wally and Francine showed up and got slaughtered with everyone else.'

Iris covered her mouth at that as Wally put his arm around her sister's shoulders trying to protect her from images and thoughts attacking her mind. Barry kept looking closely at Joe's children's reactions, but being careful to no share glances with Caitlin, not eager to see her reaction. Even if they both knew it wasn't really her who did all of this but Killer Frost, it still happened on this Earth, not in another universe. All it took was for her to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to literally freeze her heart.

'I met Joe a week after that, as he was trying to find a way to corner Frost. We got recruited by the opposite faction who just wanted the metahumans to be accepted and be in peace like they used to before they got transformed. It wasn't their fault.'

Without meaning to, Barry felt like he needed to defend his opinion, a war reflex he developed over the last months. He stopped, suddenly being drawn back to the present and the faces surrounding him. Realizing nobody here was going to argue him about that, how could they with two metahumanss in the room? They were looking at him with a mixture of compassion for everything he's just been through and shock at the information of everything that at the same time happened and yet didn't.

Nobody was moving a muscle or saying a single word, waiting to learn the rest, so Barry kept going.

''We worked for months to trap Killer Frost and her minions, thousands and thousands and …' Barry took his breath, tearing up a little more. ''…thousands of people died, because of me, because I couldn't let my mother's dead.''

''Barr…'' Carefully started Joe, his voice shaking. He didn't want to push his son, wanting to comfort him, but knowing that to really help Barry, he really needed to comprehend everything that he lived ''What happened after?''

The boy slowly turned his head away from the group, looking between an empty space between his friends, looking toward the back of the lab, but without really seeing, lost in his thoughts. He didn't even bother to look back at his friends and family to keep talking.

''After months fighting this war, I started forgetting my old life here. But I couldn't bring myself to kill Frost, I didn't know why, I just couldn't... I convinced Vibe and Joe to trap her, not kill her and …we did. After months of tracking her, we finally had her within her grasp, we had her on her knees and we had her chance to stop this madness. But I…I…''

The speedster stopped talking, sniffing. From his point of view, Joe could see the tears falling freely and shared an understanding look with his daughter who moved her hand forward, desperate to do anything to comfort Barry. She stopped when he continued talking with a tearful voice:

''One second, just one second of hesitation, it all it took for Killer Frost to get free and jump on us. She killed all our whole unit, she killed Vibe, she threw her ice through Joe and killed him….she jumped on me before I could react. I thought for sure I was going to die…''

Caitlin bit her lips, looking away from the speedster, hating to hear about the stuff the other her did to all the people she cared about, shiver running down her back.

''I should've ended this, I couldn't even explain why we needed her alive, everybody died because of me.'' By the time he ended his sentence, Barry could barely speak between the tears.

'Oh Barry.'' Simply said Iris, closing the gap and wrapping her arms around her adoptive brother. ''I'm so sorry this happened to you.'' She said before letting go, not caring that the boy didn't respond to the hug.

''Barry…it's not your fault, your subconscious remembered me.' Added Caitlin, trying to sound as gentle as she possibly could.

''How did you survive?'' asked Wally.

''There was this…boy, speedster. He saved me. He helped me get back here. '' Barry managed to say, finally turning back to look at his friends, his eyebrows frowning, as this could help him remember every detail. ''There was something familiar about him, I felt like I should know him, but I'm pretty sure I never met him before.''

''What did he look like?'' asked Joe.

''He was tall, with short and brown hair and was wearing a red and white speedster suit, with glasses. He looked pretty young too''

Barry started unconsciously rubbing his forehead as the throbbing in his head was returning. Quickly turning back into doctor mode, Caitlin decided it was enough stress for her patient and started pushing everyone out of the lab.

''Alright everyone, Storytime is over. You need to rest Barry.''

They all wanted to protest, but kept their words in before any of them could get out, understanding all this talking had probably drained the poor boy's energy. Not to mention they needed time to deal with all the information. All of this was without a doubt the last thing they thought Barry was doing during this whole time away.

Iris was the last one to leave, letting Barry all alone with his doctor, checking one last time at him, smiling fondly as Caitlin was helping the CSI lay back down on the bed. He might be badly shaken by everything, but he was going to be ok, he's a strong kid.

'You're ok, Barry?'' Said Caitlin, getting ready to leave too after making sure her friend was comfortable, laying on his back, his eyes closing.

''I'm back.'' It was all the answer he needed. Caitlin smiled and turned around when Barry made his voice be heard again. ''Bart.'' He whispered.

''What did you say?'' She asked, closing back to the young man's bedside.

It was too late, the speedster was asleep.

Everyone in the labs totally missed the footage on the security camera of a young speedster standing in front of the building, smiling.

''Take care, grand-dad. I'll see you around'' Said Bart Allen, before taking off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, the version of Flashpoint I had in mind before the show showed their first trailer for Season 3. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts


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